Mental Health Services for Victims of Child Sexual Assault (CSA)

Mental Health Services For Child Survivors Of Sexual Assault (CSA) provides prevention education to families and providers in communities with high levels of investigation and crises involving CSA. The program also provides trauma-informed clinical services to victims of) child sexual assault and their families.

This program aims to increase the availability of mental health services for children and adolescents (ages 17 and under) who are victims of sexual assault in Chicago. Specifically, the program will augment the current evidence-based therapeutic services provided to children and adolescents with the goal of reducing the amount of time it takes to receive mental health services and minimizing waitlists. The PATHH (Providing Access Toward Hope and Healing) Collaboration is a network of 29 providers of evidence-based, trauma informed therapy for children and families impacted by sexual abuse.  Through strong partner and funder collaboration, shared resources, coordinated mental health service delivery and advanced training for clinicians through Chicago, PATHH helps ensure that children have access to trauma-informed treatment in a timely manner.

Restorative Practices

The Restorative Practices program funds community facing capacity building training and conflict resolution services using restorative practice principles. This trauma-informed, nonviolent and community-centric approach prevents and/or resolves violence in relationships among friends, renters and landlords, rival street groups, consumers and business owners, and others.

Services for People Who Cause Harm

Services for People Who Cause Harm (PWCH) was launched in 2021 as a part of the city's emerging focus on Gender Based Violence. This program seeks to reduce violence and increase safety for GBV victims by creating innovative pathways to identify, engage and enlist in services, individuals who are actively causing harm to their intimate partner but are untouched by any law enforcement system.

Street Outreach Services

Street Outreach (SO) serves communities that are most impacted by shootings and other lethal interpersonal conflicts in the community. These hyper-local organizations hire, train, supervise and support Outreach and Case Management staff who actively engage high-risk persons who are most likely to be involved in lethal violence.  The aims is to mediate emerging conflicts, assist with life and safety focused transitions (work, school or living arrangements) and provide support and encouragement to reduce the threat of violence and trauma.  SO provides violence interruptions services in high violence community areas to reduce violence by building connections between individuals, their families, communities, associates and partners (i.e. law enforcement & education institutions). 

Trauma Informed Training and Transformation

Historically, the Trauma Informed Transformation Project (TiTP) was an initiative that provided funding opportunities and leveraged capacity building to 6 agencies operating restorative practice/justice programs that engage elementary aged youth in 9 Chicago Public Schools in 2016, OVPBH’s RP programs served 3,701 youth and 1,547 adults (Parents, School Staff and Community members).

Building on this project, the Trauma-Informed (TI) Transformation Program, the Chicago Department of Public Health advocates for and co-leads multiple initiatives that support trauma-informed transformation within CDPH and other organizations (of all types) in Chicago, and across the State of Illinois.

Victim Services

The city’s Trauma Informed Victim Services program works in partnership with currently funded Street Outreach (SO) organizations in communities that are most impacted by gun violence and lethal/non-lethal interpersonal conflicts.  The Chicago Department of Public Health supports 11 programs, each serving communities with some of  the highest rates of victimization over a three-year period, including victims of:

• Domestic violence
• Gunshot
• Other homicide survivors

Services include:

• Crisis incident response
• Assistance with post-incident coping (funeral planning, crime victims fund application)
• Induction into counseling and recovery support
• Guidance and accompaniment (legal, media)
• Referral(s) to other family specific services 

These programs are designed in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office on Violence Reduction which is a community-based investments to reduce violence and promote safety and wellbeing. In many cases, these engagement-focused services are more impactful as complements to traditional law enforcement activities rather than relying on law enforcement, alone. Tandem improvements in community perceptions of police, reductions in crime, and an improved sense of community safety and belonging can be achieved when collaboration among residents, businesses, and other local stakeholders engage in proactive strategies that prevent crime and support healthy and safe communities.